Method and apparatus having a discontinuous reception configuration

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus provide for receiving a discontinuous reception configuration, and receiving a monitoring configuration of a physical downlink control channel carrying a power saving downlink control information format. One or more monitoring occasions of at least one search space of the physical downlink control channel carrying the power saving downlink control information format based on the monitoring configuration is identified. The power saving downlink control information format is detected at one of the one or more monitoring occasions. A determination is then made as to whether to start a drx-onDurationTimer in a following discontinuous reception cycle based on a wake-up indication of the power saving downlink control information format.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus having adiscontinuous reception configuration including instances in which awake-up indication can be determined for use with at least one of one ormore identified monitoring occasions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Presently, user equipment, such as wireless communication devices,communicate with other communication devices using wireless signals,such as within a network environment that can include one or more cellswithin which various communication connections with the network andother devices operating within the network can be supported. Networkenvironments often involve one or more sets of standards, which eachdefine various aspects of any communication connection being made whenusing the corresponding standard within the network environment.Examples of developing and/or existing standards include new radioaccess technology (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Universal MobileTelecommunications Service (UMTS), Global System for MobileCommunication (GSM), and/or Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE).

In an effort to enhance user equipment power savings, more recentstandards have looked at different forms of discontinuous reception,where different portions of a particular discontinuous reception cyclecan be alternatively identified as a portion during which the userequipment will be more or less actively monitoring a control channel.During portions of the period in which the user equipment does not needto be actively monitoring the control channel, at least some of therelated portions of the transceiver circuitry may be turned off, whichcan result is at least some power consumption reductions in the userequipment.

The present inventors have recognized that it may be possible toidentify one or more monitoring occasions in a received discontinuousreception configuration during which the power saving downlink controlinformation format can be detected. It may be further possible todetermine whether to start various discontinuous reception mode timers,such as an on duration timer, based upon a wake-up indication, which canbe specific to one or more user equipment forming a sub-group of theuser equipment currently communicating with the network. It may befurther beneficial to be able to identify particular implementationdetails for such a discontinuous reception mode of operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary network environment in whichthe present invention is adapted to operate;

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram of an exemplary discontinuous receptioncycle, such as for monitoring a physical downlink control channel;

FIG. 3 are exemplary waveform diagrams for a group of k user equipment,is which can share a wake up signal/channel for power savingenhancements as part of the discontinuous reception mode;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram in a user equipment for receiving adiscontinuous reception configuration for use in monitoring a physicaldownlink control channel;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram in a network entity of providing adiscontinuous reception configuration to a user equipment during whichat least one of one or more monitoring occasions can be identifiedduring which a power saving downlink control information format may betransmitted; and

FIG. 6 is an example block diagram of an apparatus according to apossible embodiment.

SUMMARY

The present application provides a method in a user equipment. Themethod includes receiving a discontinuous reception configuration, andreceiving a monitoring configuration of a physical downlink controlchannel carrying a power saving downlink control information format. Oneor more monitoring occasions of at least one search space of thephysical downlink control channel carrying the power saving downlinkcontrol information format based on the monitoring configuration isidentified. The power saving downlink control information format isdetected at one of the one or more monitoring occasions. A determinationis then made as to whether to start a drx-onDurationTimer in a followingdiscontinuous reception cycle based on a wake-up indication of the powersaving downlink control information format.

According to another possible embodiment, a user equipment in acommunication network is provided. The user equipment includes atransceiver that receives a discontinuous reception configuration, andreceives a monitoring configuration of a physical downlink controlchannel carrying a power saving downlink control information format. Theuser equipment further includes a controller, coupled to thetransceiver, that identifies one or more monitoring occasions of atleast one search space of the physical downlink control channel carryingthe power saving downlink control information format based on themonitoring configuration. The controller via the transceiver detects thepower saving downlink control information format at one of the one ormore monitoring occasions, and the controller determines whether tostart a drx-onDurationTimer in a following discontinuous reception cyclebased on a wake-up indication of the power saving downlink controlinformation format.

According to a further possible embodiment, a method in a network entityfor communicating with a user equipment is provided. The method includestransmitting a discontinuous reception configuration to be used by theuser equipment, and transmitting a monitoring configuration of aphysical downlink control channel carrying a power saving downlinkcontrol information format to be used by the user equipment from whichone or more monitoring occasions of at least one search space of thephysical downlink control channel carrying the power saving downlinkcontrol information format based on the monitoring configuration to beused by the user equipment can be identified. The power saving downlinkcontrol information format is transmitted at one of the one or moremonitoring occasions from which the user equipment can determine whetherto start a drx-onDurationTimer in a following discontinuous receptioncycle based on a wake-up indication of the power saving downlink controlinformation format.

According to a still further possible embodiment, a network entity forcommunicating with a user equipment is provided. The network entityincludes a controller, and a transceiver that transmits, to a userequipment, a discontinuous reception configuration to be used by theuser equipment, and transmits a monitoring configuration of a physicaldownlink control channel carrying a power saving downlink controlinformation format to be used by the user equipment from which one ormore monitoring occasions of at least one search space of the physicaldownlink control channel carrying the power saving downlink controlinformation format based on the monitoring configuration to be used bythe user equipment can be identified. The transceiver further transmitsto the user equipment the power saving downlink control informationformat at one of the one or more monitoring occasions from which theuser equipment can determine whether to start a drx-onDurationTimer in afollowing discontinuous reception cycle based on a wake-up indication ofthe power saving downlink control information format.

These and other features, and advantages of the present application areevident from the following description of one or more preferredembodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

While the present disclosure is susceptible of embodiment in variousforms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be describedpresently preferred embodiments with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention andis not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsillustrated.

Embodiments provide a method and apparatus for enhancement todiscontinuous reception.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a system 100 according to apossible embodiment. The system 100 can include a wireless communicationdevice 110, such as User Equipment (UE), a base station 120, such as anenhanced NodeB (eNB) or next generation NodeB (gNB), and a network 130.The wireless communication device 110 can be a wireless terminal, aportable wireless communication device, a smartphone, a cellulartelephone, a flip phone, a personal digital assistant, a personalcomputer, a selective call receiver, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, or any other device that is capable of sending and receivingcommunication signals on a wireless network.

The network 130 can include any type of network that is capable ofsending and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, thenetwork 130 can include a wireless communication network, a cellulartelephone network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based network,a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-based network, an OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)-based network, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, a 5th generation (5G) network, a 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP)-based network, a satellite communicationsnetwork, a high altitude platform network, the Internet, and/or othercommunications networks.

For Release-16 New Radio (NR), a study on UE power saving methods wasinitiated, and UE adaptation to data traffic in terms of frequency,time, and antenna domains is currently under discussion. In the presentapplication, at least some consideration is given to time-domainadaptation, and more specifically, to enhancing UE power saving inconnected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) through the introductionof Layer 1 (L1) wake-up signal/channel.

In Release-15, wake-up signals for Narrowband-Internet of Things(NB-IoT) and Machine Type Communications (MTC) were introduced forenhancing UE power saving in IDLE mode. Due to IDLE mode operation,these wake-up signals were designed to be sequence-based signals withspecific resource element mapping. In C-DRX, wake-up signaling and/orinformation can be conveyed to user equipment (UE) over a downlinkchannel, such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

In the present application, methods on wake-up signaling/informationtransmission over PDCCH for UE power saving enhancement in discontinuousreception (DRX) are discussed.

For power saving, two discontinuous reception (DRX) modes are includedin Release-15 NR, IDLE mode DRX (I-DRX) and connected mode DRX (C-DRX).During a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state, when no data istransmitted for a UE for a certain period of time, the UE is instructed,by network command or configuration, to enter DRX. A C-DRX cycle isdivided into two durations, an ON duration and an OFF duration. The UEis only required to perform PDCCH monitoring during the ON duration. Insome cases, the ON duration can be extended when a downlink (DL)transmission grant arrives towards the end of the ON duration where theUE continues monitoring PDCCH until the expiry of an inactivity timer.C-DRX operation parameters can be configured from higher layers throughan RRC message. Some controls over C-DRX operation can be carried out bythe network through MAC Control Element (CE) commands for fasteradaptation.

C-DRX allows the UE to save power by not monitoring PDCCH in the OFFduration. However, in some cases, for a specific DRX configuration and aspecific is data traffic rate, the UE may find itself waking up forPDCCH monitoring in an ON duration where no packets are actuallyscheduled. In such scenarios, and to allow for faster and smaller scalepower savings in the time-domain, having the UE monitor a Layer 1 (L1)wake-up signal that indicates whether or not the UE should wake up formonitoring PDCCH in an ON duration can further enhance power savings.

In Release-15 NR, wake-up signals for Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) andMachine Type Communications (MTC) were introduced for enhancing UE powersaving in IDLE mode. Due to IDLE mode operation, these wake-up signalswere designed to be sequence-based with specific resource elementmapping. In C-DRX, wake-up signaling and/or information can be conveyedto the user equipment (UE) as part of Downlink Control Information (DCI)over PDCCH.

Monitoring a wake-up signal/channel at a slower timescale (e.g.,periodically), even if transmitted over PDCCH, would consume less power,as the UE does not have to fully wake-up and be ready for other taskssuch as physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding or sendingphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) responses between the wake-upsignal/channel occasions. The advantages of using PDCCH compared tosequence-based signaling is that it may reduce overhead by reusingcontrol resources, while sequence-based signaling may require a separateresource element allocation. In addition, sequence-based signaldetection can have a higher detection error rate compared to DCI, aserror-control coding is performed on DCI. Further, using PDCCH may allowfor less modification to the specification of Release-15 NR.

As part of the effort in 3GPP for enhancing UE power savings forRelease-16 NR, PDCCH/DCI-based wake-up/go-to-sleep signal were proposed.However, the proposals generally lack details concerning much of thespecifics for such a design such as the configuration, adaptation, DCIformat, and design of the wake-up signal/channel, as well as whether itis UE-specific or group based. The present application provides at leasta couple of embodiments, which are intended to provide at least somespecifics concerning how the PDCCH/DCI-based wake-up signal/channelcould be integrated.

In terms of the configuration of the wake-up signal/channel in C-DRX,this can be controlled by upper layer signaling such as through an RRCmessage. Some configuration parameters, such as wake-up signal/channelperiodicity, might need to be adapted by upper-layers more frequently,and in at least some instances this might be accomplished through amedium access control control element (MAC CE) command. After thewake-up signal/channel is configured, the wake-up signal/channel can betransmitted as part of a DCI over PDCCH. Below, at least a couple ofembodiments are described concerning how the wake-up signal/channelcould be configured and how it could be designed and mapped to a DCI.Background on DRX configuration, through RRC and MAC CE, and on DCIformats as described in Release-15 NR are also briefly discussed.

DRX Configuration

The PDCCH monitoring activity of the UE in RRC connected mode isgoverned by at least DRX.

When DRX is configured, the UE does not have to continuously monitorPDCCH. DRX is characterized by the following:

-   -   on-duration: duration that the UE waits for, after waking up, to        receive PDCCHs. If the UE successfully decodes a PDCCH, the UE        stays awake and starts the inactivity timer;    -   inactivity-timer: duration that the UE waits to successfully        decode a PDCCH, from the last successful decoding of a PDCCH,        failing which it can go back to sleep. The UE shall restart the        inactivity timer following a single successful decoding of a        PDCCH for a first transmission only (i.e. not for        retransmissions);    -   retransmission-timer: duration until a retransmission can be        expected;    -   cycle: specifies the periodic repetition of the on-duration        followed by a possible period of inactivity (see figure below);    -   active-time: total duration that the UE monitors PDCCH. This        includes the “on-duration” of the DRX cycle, the time the UE is        performing continuous reception while the inactivity timer has        not expired, and the time when the UE is performing continuous        reception while waiting for a retransmission opportunity.

FIG. 2 provides a waveform diagram 200 of an exemplary discontinuousreception cycle, such as for a physical downlink control channel.

RRC DRX Configuration

DRX can be configured through a specific RRC information element (IE)called DRX-Config. According to Release-15 NR, the DRX parameters thatcan be configured within DRX-Config include the following:

-   -   drx-onDurationTimer: the duration at the beginning of a DRX        Cycle;    -   drx-SlotOffset: the delay before starting the        drx-onDurationTimer;    -   drx-InactivityTimer: the duration after the PDCCH occasion in        which a PDCCH indicates a new uplink (UL) or downlink (DL)        transmission for the MAC entity;    -   drx-RetransmissionTimerDL (per DL hybrid automatic repeat        request (HARQ) process): the maximum duration until a DL        retransmission is received;    -   drx-RetransmissionTimerUL (per UL HARQ process): the maximum        duration until a grant for UL retransmission is received;    -   drx-LongCycleStartOffset: the Long DRX cycle and drx-StartOffset        which defines the subframe where the Long and Short DRX Cycle        starts;    -   drx-ShortCycle (optional): the Short DRX cycle;    -   drx-ShortCycleTimer (optional): the duration the UE shall follow        the Short DRX cycle;    -   drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL (per DL HARQ process): the minimum duration        before a DL assignment for HARQ retransmission is expected by        the medium access control (MAC) entity;    -   drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL (per UL HARQ process): the minimum duration        before a UL HARQ retransmission grant is expected by the MAC        entity.

When a DRX cycle is configured, the Active Time includes the time while:

-   -   drx-onDurationTimer or drx-InactivityTimer or        drx-RetransmissionTimerDL or drx-RetransmissionTimerUL or        ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running; or    -   a Scheduling Request is sent on a physical uplink control        channel (PUCCH) and is pending; or    -   a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to the Cell        Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) of the MAC entity        has not been received after successful reception of a Random        Access Response for the Random Access Preamble not selected by        the MAC entity among the contention-based Random Access        Preamble.        MAC CE DRX Command

DRX Command MAC CE and Long DRX Command MAC CE can be identified by aMAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) subheader with a specific Logical ChannelID (LCID). When a DRX Command MAC CE or a Long DRX Command MAC CE isreceived, drx-onDurationTimer and drx-InactivityTimer are stopped. Ifthe Short DRX cycle is configured and a DRX Command MAC CE is received,drx-ShortCycle Timer are started or restarted in the first symbol afterthe end of DRX Command MAC CE reception and the Short DRX Cycle is used,else the Long DRX cycle is used. If a Long DRX Command MAC CE isreceived, the Long DRX cycle is used.

DCI Formats

The DCI formats defined in Release-15 NR are:

-   -   Format 0_0: Scheduling of PUSCH in one cell.    -   Format 0_1: Scheduling of PUSCH in one cell.    -   Format 1_0: Scheduling of PDSCH in one cell.    -   Format 1_1: Scheduling of PDSCH in one cell.    -   Format 2_0: Notifying a group of UEs of the slot format.    -   Format 2_1: Notifying a group of UEs of the PRB(s) and OFDM        symbol(s) where UE may assume no transmission is intended for        the UE    -   Format 2_2: Transmission of TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH.    -   Format 2_3: Transmission of a group of TPC commands for SRS        transmissions by one or more UEs.

DCI formats 1_0, 2_1, 2_2, 2_3 monitored in the common search space of aserving cell have the same DCI size.

According to a possible embodiment, in order to allow for further UEpower savings in DRX, a wake-up signal/channel can be used forindicating to the UE (e.g., via UE-specific signaling) or a group of UEs(e.g., via group-specific signaling) when to wake-up for PDCCHmonitoring in an ON duration. The wake-up signal/channel could betransmitted over PDCCH as part of a DCI. For monitoring the wake-upsignal/channel over PDCCH, the UE does not have to fully wake-up to beready for performing other tasks such as PDSCH decoding or PUCCHresponse transmission, which could be the case for PDCCH monitoring inan ON duration. As opposed to introducing a new separate signal forwake-up indication, using PDCCH for wake-up signal/channel would add nooverhead and would require less modifications to the specifications ofRelease-15 NR. In addition, error-control coding is performed on DCIallowing for better detection of the wake-up signal/channel. Also, usingPDCCH for wake-up signal/channel allows additional power saving relatedcontrol information to be conveyed in the PDCCH payload as compared to apure sequence based wake-up signal design.

In our proposed solution, the wake-up signal/channel can be transmittedas part of DCI over PDCCH in the common search space of PDCCH. Inaddition to the lower-complexity of blind decoding of PDCCH in thecommon search space (e.g., smaller number of blind decodes), using thecommon search space allows for using the same wake-up signal/channel fora group of UEs, which can allow for overhead reduction. Typically, theUEs in such a group would be sharing a similar DRX configuration, e.g.,at least with respect to the same or within a certain value range ofdrx-SlotOffset (start of DRX ON duration). At least one exemplaryproposed solution is shown in FIG. 3, where FIG. 3 includes exemplarywaveform diagrams 300 for a group of k user equipment, which can share awake up signal/channel for power saving enhancements as part of thediscontinuous reception mode. The wake-up signal/channel can also betransmitted as part of a DCI in a UE-specific search space. Using aUE-specific search space would allow for a UE-specific or dedicatedwake-up signal/channel that can be configured with UE-specificparameters.

The details of wake-up signal/channel configuration in Embodiment 1 arefurther discussed, as well as the adaptation of wake-up signal/channeloperation in Embodiment 2, specific DCI format for wake-upsignal/channel in Embodiment 3, and wake-up signal/channel design aspart of PDCCH/DCI in Embodiment 4.

Embodiment 1: Configuration of Wake-Up Signal/Channel and DRX

In one embodiment, a UE receives via higher-layer signaling a wake-upsignal/channel configuration which can include a monitoring periodicity,a monitoring occasion duration (e.g. in terms of the number of symbolsand a starting symbol index, or a bitmap indicating a set of symbolswithin a slot), and a monitoring occasion time offset (e.g. in terms ofa slot index or a subframe index). If the UE is configured with DRXoperation, the UE may determine and receive the closest wake-upsignal/channel to the start time of ON duration of a given DRX cycle andmonitor the wake-up signal/channel during the configured DRX ONduration.

In another embodiment, a UE can determine (e.g., implicitly) theconfiguration of a wake-up signal/channel based on DRX configuration, ifthe UE is configured to monitor the wake-up signal/channel. For example,in at least some instances, the UE can assume that the monitoringperiodicity of the wake-up signal/channel is the same as (or multipleof, or a fraction of) a configured DRX cycle, and the monitoringoccasion of the wake-up signal/channel can be determined based on thestart of DRX ON duration (e.g. the first [X] symbols of the ON duration,the first [X] symbols of slot n-k, k slots prior to the slot ncorresponding to the start of the ON duration, k can be a single valueor multiple values corresponding to single slot or multiple slothypothesis/blind detection for receiving the wake up signal/channel).

In one embodiment, a DRX configuration can include an offset value ofthe start of the ON duration with respect to the start of a DRX cycle.In one example, a UE may assume that wake-up signal/channel istransmitted at the beginning of the DRX cycle. A network entity mayconfigure and transmit a wake-up signal/channel for a group of UEs whichcan be configured with the same DRX cycle and the same cycle startoffset. The group of UEs may have same or different start time of ON isduration within the configured DRX cycle window. This allows the wake-upsignal/channels to be shared among the group of UEs. However, controland/or data channel transmission windows may be different among thegroup of UEs so that the network entity can distribute the multiple UEs'traffics across different time windows and the UE can wake-up only forthe configured transmission window.

In one embodiment, a group of UEs may have a same or a different starttime of ON duration with the same wake-up signal/channels shared amongthe group of UEs. However, control and/or data channel transmissionwindows (e.g., different start time of ON duration, and/or different ONduration drx-onDurationTimer values) may be different among the group ofUEs so that the network entity can distribute the multiple UEs'load/traffic across different time windows and the UE can wake-up onlyfor the configured transmission window.

In another embodiment, a UE can receive an indication of an offset valueof the wake-up signal/channel monitoring occasion with respect to thestart of a DRX cycle or start of the ON duration. In this case, a groupof UEs configured to monitor the same wake-up signal/channel may beconfigured with same or different DRX configurations (e.g., a DRX cycle,DRX slot offset, DRX cycle start offset).

In other embodiments, a UE dynamically receives an indication of a starttime of an ON duration within a configured DRX cycle window (determinedby e.g., the DRX cycle DRX slot offset, and/or a cycle start offset) ina wake-up signal/channel. Alternatively, the UE receives dynamicindication of a start time offset of an ON duration with respect to thereceived wake-up signal/channel in the wake-up signal/channel. Inanother example, the dynamic indication may further indicate the ONduration drx-onDurationTimer value. Dynamic indication can sometimesprovide more fairness in terms of UE power saving impact among the groupof UEs sharing the same wake-up signal/channel. In one example, thedynamic indication may be only valid for the DRX cycle associated withthe wake-up signal/channel.

In one embodiment, the UE can monitor the wake-up signal/channelmonitoring occasion only during the ON duration of the DRX cycle. Inanother example, in addition to the ON duration, the UE may also monitorthe wake-up signal/channel during a monitoring occasion prior to thestart (e.g., closest to the start of an ON duration or the indicatedoffset as described above) of the ON duration. If the wake-upsignal/channel indicates the UE is not required to wake-up (i.e., cansleep for power savings), then the UE can wake up at the next wake-upsignal/channel monitoring occasion within the ON duration. In oneexample, the wake-up signal/channel may indicate to skip (i.e., to notperform continuous reception and PDCCH monitoring activity) the next [X]or remaining monitoring occasions within the ON duration.

Embodiment 2: Adaptation of Wake-Up Signal/Channel and DRX

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a set of wake-upsignal/channel monitoring periodicity values via higher layer e.g., RRCsignaling, and a MAC CE based command can indicate a selected wake-upsignal/channel monitoring periodicity.

In another embodiment, in DRX configuration, a UE can be configured witha set of DRX cycle values and/or DRX ON duration timer values via RRCsignaling, and a MAC CE based command can indicate a selected DRX cyclevalue and/or DRX ON duration timer value.

In another embodiment, a UE can receive a dynamic indication of a DRX ONduration timer value, e.g. in a wake-up signal/channel.

In other embodiments, a UE can dynamically receive an indication ofskipping the next [X] wake-up signal/channel monitoring occasions (viaMAC CE in PDSCH or via DCI within a PDCCH based wake-up channel).

Embodiment 3: Wake-Up Signal/Channel DCI Format

In addition to the DCI formats defined in Release-15 NR, a new wake-upDCI format can be added for the wake-up signal/channel. The length ofthe DCI, in terms of total number of information bits, can be same asthat for other formats, such as formats 2_0, or 1_0/2_1/2_2/2_3 ofRelease-15 NR to reduce any additional blind is decoding DCI sizes. Inone example, the wake-up DCI format may share blind decoding with otherformats. The number of blind decoding candidates for the wake-up DCIformat may be configured by higher layers. In the DCI of a group commonPDCCH, the number of wake-up signal/channel bits intended for each UEcan be designed such that the total number of bits for the group of UEsdoes not exceed the DCI format length. A new radio network temporaryidentifier (RNTI), e.g., wake up channel (WUC)-RNTI, can be defined toscramble the CRC of the wake-up signal/channel DCI, so that the UE candetermine the DCI corresponding to the wake-up signal/channel. In oneexample, the wake-up DCI can be received in the common search space orUE-specific search space. A wake-up DCI in the common search space maybe common for a group of UEs.

Embodiment 4: PDCCH Based Wake-Up Channel

The design of the wake-up signal/channel in terms of bit fields couldinclude an indication of whether the UE should wake up or not, and caninclude other indications, such as partial or complete start time-offsetinformation, DRX ON duration timer value, DRX cycle start offset ormonitoring duration. The indications may be separately coded or jointlycoded. The number of bits a UE is assigned per wake-up signal/channelcould be limited to a small number of bits, for example no more than 3bits. In one example, the wake-up DCI may include multiple sets of 2 bitfields, with a bit field assigned to a UE or group of UEs. Mapping fromthe bit sequence to a combination of wake-up indications and/or otherparameters such as the time-offset, wake-up duration, and/or wake-upchannel periodicity can be defined and configured for the UE.

In DCI of a group common PDCCH, in one example, each UE have a 2-bitfield, where ‘00’ can indicate no wake-up, and ‘01’, ‘10’, and ‘11’ canindicate 3 different values of a start time offset of ON duration withrespect to the wake-up channel.

In another example, each UE can have a 2-bit field, where ‘00’ indicatesno wake-up, and ‘01’, ‘10’, and ‘11’ can indicate 3 different values ofPDCCH monitoring duration after the wake-up signal/channel is received.For example, ‘00’ can indicate no wake-up, ‘01’ can indicate that thePDCCH monitoring duration (i.e. ON duration) is equal to the wake-upchannel periodicity, ‘10’ can indicate that the PDCCH monitoringduration is half that of the monitoring periodicity, and ‘11’ canindicate that the PDCCH monitoring duration is quarter of that of themonitoring periodicity. In another example, the monitoring duration canbe a multiple times more than the periodicity instead of a factor timesless.

Another example would be to have more than 2 bits for each UE, such ashaving 4 bits per UE to indicate both a start time-offset of ON durationand a PDCCH monitoring duration (i.e. ON duration). For example, ‘0000’can be used to indicate no wake-up, the remaining 15 bit combinationscan be used to indicate 5 time-offsets and 3 wake-up durations (i.e. ONdurations).

Embodiment 5: Discovery Reference Signal Transmission for NR Access toUnlicensed Spectrum (NR-U)

During RAN1#94bis and RAN1#95 meeting, RAN1 made the followingagreements for Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) design including SS/PBCHblock (SSB) transmission and multiplexing of SSB and CORESET #0: For SSBtransmissions as part of DRS:

-   -   It is considered beneficial to expand the maximum number of        candidate SSB positions within DRS transmission window to [Y],        for e.g., Y=[64]        -   For future study (FFS): How to derive frame timing from            detected SS/PBCH block    -   Transmitted SSBs do not overlap        -   FFS: Shift granularity between candidate SSBs            positions/candidate groups of SSBs        -   Maximum number of transmitted SSBs is [X] within DRS            transmission window. X<=8        -   FFS: Duration of DRS transmission window        -   FFS: Duration of the transmitted DRS within the window,            including SSBs and other multiplexed signals/channels    -   FFS: relationship between transmitted SSB index and        Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) assumption at UE    -   FFS: If and how to support beam repetition for soft combining of        SSBs within the same DRS transmission    -   It is considered beneficial to configure DMTC(s) (DRS        Measurement Time Configuration) in which UEs can perform        measurements.    -   DRS-based Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements are        performed inside the DMTC(s)        -   FFS: Similarity with Rel-15 SMTC        -   CSI-RS-based measurements may be performed outside the            DMTC(s)    -   DRS-based Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) for unlicensed SpCell is        performed inside the DMTC(s)        -   RLM DMTC may coincide with DRS transmission window        -   CSI-RS-based RLM may be performed outside of DMTC(s)    -   FFS: Explicit indication is provided by gNB to indicate whether        or not DRS and/or CSI-RS transmissions occurred    -   FFS: If DMTCs for RRM measurements and RLM are the same or can        be different    -   Confirm the working assumption: Extended CP for SS/PBCH block is        not supported for NR-U operation    -   Modify the section in the Technical Report (TR) to remove        references to future confirmation of this statement.    -   Support of Pattern 1 is recommended for multiplexing of SS/PBCH        block(s) and CORESET(s) #0 in NR-U.        -   As one element to facilitate a NR-U DRS design without gaps            in the time domain, the CORESET #0 configuration(s) and/or            Type0-PDCCH common search space configuration(s) may need            enhancements compared to NR Rel-15, such as additional time            domain configurations of the common search space.

Note: Pattern 1 is understood as CORESET #0 and SS/PBCH block(s) occurin different time instances, and CORESET #0 bandwidth overlaps with thetransmission bandwidth of the SS/PBCH block.

-   -   Adopt the following text proposal to reflect the above        -   “Support of Pattern 1 is recommended for multiplexing of            SS/PBCH block(s) and CORESET(s) #0 in NR-U, where Pattern 1            is understood as CORESET #0 and SS/PBCH block occur in            different time instances, and CORESET #0 bandwidth overlaps            with the transmission bandwidth of the SS/PBCH block.        -   As one element to facilitate a NR-U DRS design without gaps            in the time domain, the CORESET #0 configuration(s) and/or            Type0-PDCCH common search space configuration(s) may need            enhancements compared to NR Rel-15, such as additional time            domain configurations of the common search space.”            Adopt the following text for the TR:

The detection of a gNB's transmission burst by the UE has been studied,and concerns on the UE power consumption required for transmit (Tx)burst detection e.g. if the UE needs to frequently detect/monitor thePDCCH have been raised. The proposals that have been made bycontributions regarding these topics include existing NR signal(s) withpotential enhancement(s), a channel such as PDCCH with potentialenhancement(s), and the 802.11a/802.11ax preamble with potentialenhancement(s); consensus was not achieved on any of these proposals.The detection/decoding reliability of each of the proposals has not beensufficiently evaluated for a complete evaluation of the proposalsagainst each other. The power consumption and detection/decodingcomplexity of each of the proposals have not been sufficiently evaluatedfor a complete evaluation of the proposals against each other. Therelation of a proposal with C-DRX and/or measurement gap(s) may needfurther consideration when specifications are being developed.

The present application can additionally provide Discovery ReferenceSignal (DRS) design and related procedure for NR access to unlicensedspectrum.

DRS for NR-U can include at least a SS/PBCH block burst, and CSI-RS maybe transmitted outside a DRS transmission window.

SS/PBCH Block Burst Transmission

Subcarrier Spacing (SCS)

According to NR-U WID (RP-182878), the work item will specify NRenhancements for a single global solution framework for access tounlicensed spectrum which enables operation of NR in the 5 GHz and the 6GHz (e.g., US 5925-7125 MHz, or European 5925-6425 MHz, or partsthereof) unlicensed bands taking into account regional regulatoryrequirements. In 3GPP Rel-15 NR, SS/PBCH (SSB) are transmitted witheither 15 KHz SCS or 30 KHz SCS in FR1. Thus, in Rel-16 NR-U, theallowed SSB subcarrier spacing should be 30 KHz only or both 15 KHz and30 KHz. If two values are allowed, RAN4 can define a region-specific andunlicensed-band specific SSB subcarrier spacing value to avoid UE'sblind detection for SSB subcarrier spacing.

In one example, namely Rel-16 NR-U, the allowed SCS for SS/PBCH blocktransmission should be 1) 30 KHz only or 2) both 15 KHz and 30 KHz. Iftwo values are allowed, RAN4 defines a region-specific andunlicensed-band specific SS/PBCH subcarrier spacing value.

Max Number of SSBs within a SSB Burst

According to Rel-15 NR (relevant spec text copied below), for 15 KHz SCSand frequency range of 3-6 GHz, the max 8 SSBs can be transmitted withina SSB burst. Further, for 30 KHz SCS and frequency range of 3-6 GHz (or2.4-6 GHz for SSB burst pattern Case C in TDD), the max 8 SSBs can betransmitted within a SSB burst. Thus, Rel-16 NR-U spec should allow themax 8 SSB transmissions within a DRS transmission window.

-   -   From the endorsed editor's CR for TS 38.213 (R1-1814394)—

For a half frame with SS/PBCH blocks, the first symbol indexes forcandidate SS/PBCH blocks are determined according to the SCS of SS/PBCHblocks as follows, where index 0 corresponds to the first symbol of thefirst slot in a half-frame.

-   -   Case A—15 kHz SCS: the first symbols of the candidate SS/PBCH        blocks have indexes of {2,8}+14·n. For carrier frequencies        smaller than or equal to 3 GHz, n=0,1. For carrier frequencies        larger than 3 GHz and smaller than or equal to 6 GHz, n=0, 1, 2,        3.    -   Case B—30 kHz SCS: the first symbols of the candidate SS/PBCH        blocks have indexes {4, 8,16, 20}+28·n. For carrier frequencies        smaller than or equal to 3 GHz, n=0. For carrier frequencies        larger than 3 GHz and smaller than or equal to 6 GHz, n=0,1.    -   Case C—30 kHz SCS: the first symbols of the candidate SS/PBCH        blocks have indexes {2,8}+14·n. For carrier frequencies smaller        than or equal to 3 GHz, n=0, 1. For carrier frequencies larger        than 3 GHz and smaller than or equal to 6 GHz, n=0, 1, 2, 3.        -   For paired spectrum operation            -   For carrier frequencies smaller than or equal to 3 GHz,                n=0,1. For carrier frequencies larger than 3 GHz and                smaller than or equal to 6 GHz, n=0, 1, 2, 3.        -   For unpaired spectrum operation            -   For carrier frequencies smaller than or equal to 2.4                GHz, n=0,1. For carrier frequencies larger than 2.4 GHz                and smaller than or equal to 6 GHz, n=0,1, 2, 3.

In one example, Rel-16 NR-U supports the maximum 8 SSB transmissionswithin a DRS transmission window.

SSB Burst Transmission Pattern

In an unlicensed band, a network entity (e.g. gNB) should be able totransmit DRS quickly within a channel occupancy time (COT). Thus, it isdesirable that the max. 8 SSBs of a SSB burst are transmitted onconsecutive SSB candidate positions. A starting SSB candidate positionof the SSB burst may be flexibly selected from [64] SSB candidatepositions of a DRS transmission window subject to gNB'sListen-Before-Talk (LBT), with the entire SSB burst being transmittedwithin the 64 SSB candidate positions (i.e. within the DRS transmissionwindow).

Definition of SSB candidate positions for Rel-16 NR-U can be based onCase A, Case B, and Case C of Rel-15 NR SSB candidate positionspecification (please refer to the copied spec text above). Case B inRel-15 NR was specified to address the deployment scenario that an NRcell and a LTE cell are deployed in the same carrier. In 5 GHz and 6 GHzunlicensed spectrum, it is possible that legacy LTE-LAA cells maycoexist with Rel-16 NR-U cell, where Case B SSB candidate positions maybe used. Assuming 64 SSB candidate positions within a DRS transmissionwindow and Rel-15 NR Case A/B/C based SSB candidate position extensionup to 64 SSB candidate positions, the minimum required DRS transmissionwindow duration would be 32 ms for 15 KHz SCS SSB and 16 ms for 30 KHzSCS SSB.

In one embodiment, SS/PBCH blocks of a SSB burst are transmitted onconsecutive SSB candidate positions within a DRS transmission window.For example, the max. 8 SSBs of a SSB burst are transmitted onconsecutive SSB candidate positions.

In one example, the starting SSB candidate position of the SSB burst isflexibly selected from 64 SSB candidate positions of a DRS transmissionwindow subject to LBT with the entire SSB burst being transmitted withinthe 64 SSB candidate positions.

In one example, 64 SSB candidate positions within a DRS transmissionwindow are determined by consecutively repeating Rel-15 NR Case A/B/Cbased SSB candidate positions up to 64 SSB candidate positions.

In one example, Rel-16 NR-U supports DRS transmission window duration of32 ms for 15 KHz SCS SSB and of 16 ms for 30 KHz SCS SSB.

Frame Timing and Quasi-Co-Location (QCL)

If transmitted SSBs in Rel-16 NR-U DRS are indexed according to the SSBcandidate position indices as in Rel-15 NR and the starting SSBcandidate position of the SSB burst is changing subject to LBT, UEcannot assume QCL among SSBs which have the same SSB index but aretransmitted in different DRS transmission windows. If the firsttransmitted SSB of the SSB burst is set as the SSB index 0, UE canassume that detected SSBs with the same SSB index but from different DRStransmission windows are spatially quasi-co-located. With the max. 8SSBs within a SSB burst, one of SSB index values {0, 1, . . . , 7} canbe indicated via selection of a PBCH DM RS sequence (i.e. the DM RSsequence generator is initialized at the start of each SSB occasionbased on the SSB index). This allows UE to perform DRS based mobilitymeasurements and reporting by only detecting PSS/SSS and PBCH DMRSwithout decoding PBCH in RRC connected mode.

According to TS 38.212, Rel-15 NR PBCH includes 3 bits used for thethree most significant bits of the SSB candidate position index (ifthere are 64 SSB candidate positions) and 1 bit indicating half frametiming information. In Rel-16 NR-U, these 4 PBCH payload bits can beused for indicating the time location of the is transmitted SSB withinthe DRS transmission window in terms of 2 slot granularity. Assumingthat the start of the DRS transmission window is aligned with the frameboundary, by decoding PBCH, the UE can identify the SFN (from the SFNpayload bits in MIB/PBCH) and obtain partial frame timing informationwith up to 2-slot timing ambiguity. If gNB transmits 2 bits in SystemInformation Block 1 (SIB1) to indicate a time shift value of the SSBburst within 2 slots, the UE can obtain the exact SSB transmissionlocation of the detected SSB within 2 slots and determine the frameboundary. Note that the 2-bit indication value in SIB1 is same for alltransmitted SSBs and accordingly, the SIB payload does not change acrossSSBs of the SSB burst. This allows the UE to combine SIB1 PDSCHsassociated with multiple SSBs for improved demodulation performance.

In one embodiment, the first transmitted SSB of the SSB burst in the DRStransmission window can be set as the SSB index 0. For example, the SSBindex from {0, 1, . . . , 7} for the max 8 SSBs of the SSB burst isindicated via selection of a PBCH DMRS sequence.

In one embodiment, the UE can determine frame boundary information bydecoding PBCH and SIB1. The existing 4 bits in the Rel-15 NR PBCHpayload can be used for indicating the time location of the transmittedSSB within the DRS transmission window in terms of 2 slot granularity.Further, gNB can use 2 bit in SIB1 to indicate a time shift value of theSSB burst within 2 slots in terms of the number of SSB candidatepositions. Alternatively, gNB can use 1 bit in SIB1 to indicate whetherthe slot where the SSB is transmitted has an even or odd number for theslot index (in this case, the first SSB of the SSB burst is alwaystransmitted in the first SSB position of a slot).

In the present application, a DCI-based wake-up signal/channel in C-DRXis proposed for UE power saving enhancement. The UE can use the wake-upsignal/channel to skip monitoring PDCCH in an ON duration wheretransmission grants are not expected. For monitoring the wake-upsignal/channel over PDCCH, the UE does not have to fully wake up forPDSCH decoding or PUCCH response transmission as would be the case forregular PDCCH monitoring in an ON duration. The use of PDCCH for wake-upsignal/channel transmission, as opposed to introducing a newsequence-based wake-up signal, would add less overhead, as asequence-based design would require reserving specific resourceelements. In addition, error-control coding is performed on DCI whichallows for more robust detection of the wake-up signal/channel. Lastly,using PDCCH for wake-up signal/channel transmission could providerelatively little modifications to the specification of Release-15 NR.

Some of the interesting features lie in the details of the wake-upsignal/channel in terms of its configuration, monitoring assumptions,adaptation of parameters, DCI format, and design. In terms ofconfiguration, this includes parameters such as the periodicity of thewake-up signal/channel, the monitoring duration, and the time offsetbetween the wake-up signal/channel and the start of the next ONduration. These parameters can be configured by upper layers through anRRC message. For faster adaptation of configuration parameters, such asperiodicity, it is proposed that some parameters can be indicated by aMAC CE command.

It is further proposed, that the wake-up signal/channel is either commonto a group of UEs or is UE-specific. For common DCI for a group of UEs,that typically share similar DRX configurations, the start slot index ofthe ON duration may be different for each UE. For this reason, thewake-up signal/channel configuration parameters can include atime-offset parameter, possibly in terms of a number of slots orsubframes, to indicate to the UE the offset of the wake-upsignal/channel with respect to the start of the next ON duration (i.e.the start of the next DRX cycle). The time-offset can allow for the UEto determine when to wake-up and monitor the wake-up signal/channel andavoid/minimize blind decoding of the wake-up signal/channel timelocation. In another solution, the time-offset information, at leastpartially, can be incorporated as part of the wake-up signal/channelDCI.

To avoid monitoring the wake-up signal/channel in the OFF duration, theUE may monitor the wake-up signal/channel closest to the start of the ONduration and continue monitoring the wake-up signal/channel within theON duration. Note that is the wake-up duration may be a factor smalleror a multiple times larger than the wake-up signal/channel periodicity.

A new DCI format specifically for the wake-up signal/channel isintroduced that could be of similar length in terms of bits to DCIformats already defined in Release-15 NR such as formats 2_0, 2_1, or2_2. A specific RNTI could be introduced so that the UE can determinethat the DCI corresponds to a wake-up signal/channel. Scrambling can beused to determine whether the wake-up signal/channel is in the commonsearch space or the UE-specific search space.

The design of the wake-up signal/channel in terms of bit fields couldinclude an indication of whether the UE should wake up or not, and caninclude other indications, such as partial or complete time-offsetinformation or monitoring duration. The number of bits per wake-upsignal/channel per the UE could be limited to a small number of bits,for example, no more than 4 bits.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram 400 in a user equipment for receivinga discontinuous reception configuration for use in monitoring a physicaldownlink control channel. More specifically, the flow diagram includesreceiving 402 a discontinuous reception configuration, and receiving 404a monitoring configuration of a physical downlink control channelcarrying a power saving downlink control information format. One or moremonitoring occasions of at least one search space of the physicaldownlink control channel carrying the power saving downlink controlinformation format based on the monitoring configuration is identified406. The power saving downlink control information format is detected408 at one of the one or more monitoring occasions. A determination 410is then made as to whether to start a drx-onDurationTimer in a followingdiscontinuous reception cycle based on a wake-up indication of the powersaving downlink control information format.

In some instances, receiving the monitoring configuration can includereceiving at least one search space configuration. In some of theseinstances, a search space configuration of the at least one search spaceconfiguration can include information of a physical downlink controlchannel monitoring periodicity, a physical downlink control channelmonitoring offset, and one or more physical downlink control channelmonitoring symbols within a slot.

In some instances, the at least one search space can be a common searchspace, which is common to more than one user equipment.

In some instances, receiving the monitoring configuration can includereceiving an indication of an offset value with respect to a startingtime of a discontinuous reception cycle. In some of these instances, theoffset value can correspond to a number of slots. In some instances, theoffset value can be user equipment-specifically indicated.

In some instances, the one or more monitoring occasions of the at leastone search space can be within one slot.

In some instances, the one or more monitoring occasions of the at leastone search space can be within a plurality of slots.

In some instances, the physical downlink control channel carrying thepower saving downlink control information format can be a group commonphysical downlink control channel.

In some instances, the physical downlink control channel, which iscarrying the power saving downlink control information format caninclude a cyclic redundancy check scrambled with a radio networktemporary identifier, where the radio network temporary identifier canbe configured specific to the power saving downlink control informationformat.

In some instances, the method can further comprise receiving anindication of a starting location of a bit field of the power savingdownlink control information format, wherein the bit field is assignedto the user equipment.

In some instances, the power saving downlink control information formatcan further include an indication of one or more wake-up parameters. Insome of these instances, the one or more wake-up parameters can includeat least one of a number of monitoring occasions of the physicaldownlink control channel carrying the power saving downlink controlinformation format to skip, a number of physical downlink controlchannel monitoring occasions to skip within an ON duration, adrx-onDurationTimer start time offset with respect to a start time of adiscontinuous reception cycle, and a drx-onDurationTimer value.

In some instances, the method can further comprise receiving a dynamicindication identifying a number of next monitoring occasions to skip.

In some instances, the discontinuous reception configuration can bereceived via higher layers through a radio resource control message.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram 500 of a method in a network entity ofproviding a discontinuous reception configuration to a user equipmentduring which at least one of one or more monitoring occasions can beidentified during which a power saving downlink control informationformat may be transmitted. More specifically, the method includestransmitting 502 a discontinuous reception configuration to be used bythe user equipment, and transmitting 504 a monitoring configuration of aphysical downlink control channel carrying a power saving downlinkcontrol information format to be used by the user equipment from whichone or more monitoring occasions of at least one search space of thephysical downlink control channel carrying the power saving downlinkcontrol information format can be identified by the user equipment. Thepower saving downlink control information format can be transmitted 506at one of the one or more monitoring occasions from which the userequipment can determine whether to start a drx-onDurationTimer in afollowing discontinuous reception cycle based on a wake-up indication ofthe power saving downlink control information format.

It should be understood that, notwithstanding the particular steps asshown in the figures, a variety of additional or different steps can beperformed depending upon the embodiment, and one or more of theparticular steps can be rearranged, repeated or eliminated entirelydepending upon the embodiment. Also, some of the steps performed can berepeated on an ongoing or continuous basis simultaneously while othersteps are performed. Furthermore, different steps can be performed bydifferent elements or in a single element of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an example block diagram of an apparatus 600, such as thewireless communication device 110, according to a possible embodiment.The apparatus 600 can include a housing 610, a controller 620 within thehousing 610, audio input and output circuitry 630 coupled to thecontroller 620, a display 640 coupled to the controller 620, atransceiver 650 coupled to the controller 620, an antenna 655 coupled tothe transceiver 650, a user interface 660 coupled to the controller 620,a memory 670 coupled to the controller 620, and a network interface 680coupled to the controller 620. The apparatus 600 can perform the methodsdescribed in all the embodiments

The display 640 can be a viewfinder, a liquid crystal display (LCD), alight emitting diode (LED) display, a plasma display, a projectiondisplay, a touch screen, or any other device that displays information.The transceiver 650 can include a transmitter and/or a receiver. Theaudio input and output circuitry 630 can include a microphone, aspeaker, a transducer, or any other audio input and output circuitry.The user interface 660 can include a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, atouch pad, a joystick, a touch screen display, another additionaldisplay, or any other device useful for providing an interface between auser and an electronic device. The network interface 680 can be aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, an infraredtransmitter/receiver, an IEEE 1394 port, a WLAN transceiver, or anyother interface that can connect an apparatus to a network, device, orcomputer and that can transmit and receive data communication signals.The memory 670 can include a random access memory, a read only memory,an optical memory, a solid state memory, a flash memory, a removablememory, a hard drive, a cache, or any other memory that can be coupledto an apparatus.

The apparatus 600 or the controller 620 may implement any operatingsystem, such as Microsoft Windows®, UNIX®, or LINUX®, Android™, or anyother operating system. Apparatus operation software may be written inany programming language, such as C, C++, Java or Visual Basic, forexample. Apparatus software may also run on an application framework,such as, for example, a Java® framework, a .NET® framework, or any otherapplication framework. The software and/or the operating system may bestored in the memory 670 or elsewhere on the apparatus 600. Theapparatus 600 or the controller 620 may also use hardware to implementdisclosed operations. For example, the controller 620 may be anyprogrammable processor. Disclosed embodiments may also be implemented ona general-purpose or a special purpose computer, a programmedmicroprocessor or microprocessor, peripheral integrated circuitelements, an application-specific integrated circuit or other integratedcircuits, hardware/electronic logic circuits, such as a discrete elementcircuit, a programmable logic device, such as a programmable logicarray, field programmable gate-array, or the like. In general, thecontroller 620 may be any controller or processor device or devicescapable of operating an apparatus and implementing the disclosedembodiments. Some or all of the additional elements of the apparatus 600can also perform some or all of the operations of the disclosedembodiments.

The method of this disclosure can be implemented on a programmedprocessor. However, the controllers, flowcharts, and modules may also beimplemented on a general purpose or special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardware electronic or logiccircuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device,or the like. In general, any device on which resides a finite statemachine capable of implementing the flowcharts shown in the figures maybe used to implement the processor functions of this disclosure.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodimentsthereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example,various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, orsubstituted in the other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of eachfigure are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. Forexample, one of ordinary skill in the art of the disclosed embodimentswould be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure bysimply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly,embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to beillustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, relational terms such as “first,” “second,” and thelike may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from anotherentity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actualsuch relationship or order between such entities or actions. The phrase“at least one of,” “at least one selected from the group of,” or “atleast one selected from” followed by a list is defined to mean one,some, or all, but not necessarily all of, the elements in the list. Theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” or the like does not,without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identicalelements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprisesthe element. Also, the term “another” is defined as at least a second ormore. The terms “including,” “having,” and the like, as used herein, aredefined as “comprising.” Furthermore, the background section is writtenas the inventor's own understanding of the context of some embodimentsat the time of filing and includes the inventor's own recognition of anyproblems with existing technologies and/or problems experienced in theinventor's own work.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method in a user equipment, the methodcomprising: receiving a discontinuous reception configuration; receivinga monitoring configuration of a physical downlink control channelcarrying a power saving downlink control information format, whereinreceiving the monitoring configuration includes receiving an indicationof a user equipment specific offset value with respect to a startingtime of a discontinuous reception cycle of the discontinuous receptionconfiguration; identifying one or more monitoring occasions of at leastone search space of the physical downlink control channel carrying thepower saving downlink control information format based on the monitoringconfiguration; detecting the power saving downlink control informationformat at one of the one or more monitoring occasions; and determiningwhether to start a drx-onDurationTimer in a following discontinuousreception cycle of the discontinuous reception configuration based on awake-up indication of the power saving downlink control informationformat; wherein receiving the monitoring configuration comprisesreceiving at least one search space configuration; wherein a searchspace configuration of the at least one search space configurationincludes information of a physical downlink control channel monitoringperiodicity, a physical downlink control channel monitoring offset, andone or more physical downlink control channel monitoring symbols withina slot; and wherein a start position of a time domain resource of thewake-up indication of the power saving downlink control informationformat is determined, based upon the user equipment specific offsetvalue, the starting time of discontinuous reception cycle for adiscontinuous reception on duration, and the search space configuration.2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least onesearch space is a common search space, which is common to more than oneuser equipment.
 3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein theoffset value corresponds to a number of slots.
 4. The method inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more monitoring occasions ofthe at least one search space are within one slot.
 5. The method inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more monitoring occasions ofthe at least one search space are within a plurality of slots.
 6. Themethod in accordance with claim 1, wherein the physical downlink controlchannel carrying the power saving downlink control information format isa group common physical downlink control channel.
 7. The method inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the physical downlink control channel,which is carrying the power saving downlink control information formatincludes a cyclic redundancy check scrambled with a radio networktemporary identifier, where the radio network temporary identifier isconfigured specific to the power saving downlink control informationformat.
 8. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprisingreceiving an indication of a starting location of a bit field of thepower saving downlink control information format, wherein the bit fieldis assigned to the user equipment.
 9. The method in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the power saving downlink control information formatfurther includes an indication of one or more wake-up parameters. 10.The method in accordance with claim 9, wherein the one or more wake-upparameters include at least one of a number of monitoring occasions ofthe physical downlink control channel carrying the power saving downlinkcontrol information format to skip, a number of physical downlinkcontrol channel monitoring occasions to skip within an ON duration, adrx-onDurationTimer start time offset with respect to a start time of adiscontinuous reception cycle, and a drx-onDurationTimer value.
 11. Themethod in accordance with claim 1, further comprising receiving adynamic indication identifying a number of next monitoring occasions toskip.
 12. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein thediscontinuous reception configuration is received via higher layersthrough a radio resource control message.
 13. A user equipment in acommunication network, the user equipment comprising: a transceiver thatreceives a discontinuous reception configuration, and receives amonitoring configuration of a physical downlink control channel carryinga power saving downlink control information format, wherein receivingthe monitoring configuration includes receiving an indication of a userequipment specific offset value with respect to a starting time of adiscontinuous reception cycle of the discontinuous receptionconfiguration; and a controller, coupled to the transceiver, thatidentifies one or more monitoring occasions of at least one search spaceof the physical downlink control channel carrying the power savingdownlink control information format based on the monitoringconfiguration; wherein the controller via the transceiver detects thepower saving downlink control information format at one of the one ormore monitoring occasions; wherein the controller determines whether tostart a drx-onDurationTimer in a following discontinuous reception cycleof the discontinuous reception configuration based on a wake-upindication of the power saving downlink control information format;wherein receiving the monitoring configuration comprises receiving atleast one search space configuration; wherein a search spaceconfiguration of the at least one search space configuration includesinformation of a physical downlink control channel monitoringperiodicity, a physical downlink control channel monitoring offset, andone or more physical downlink control channel monitoring symbols withina slot; and wherein a start position of a time domain resource of thewake-up indication of the power saving downlink control informationformat is determined, based upon the user equipment specific offsetvalue, the starting time of discontinuous reception cycle for adiscontinuous reception on duration, and the search space configuration.14. The user equipment in accordance with claim 13, wherein the physicaldownlink control channel carrying the power saving downlink controlinformation format is a group common physical downlink control channel.15. The user equipment in accordance with claim 13, wherein thetransceiver further receives an indication of a starting location of abit field of the power saving downlink control information format,wherein the bit field is assigned to the user equipment.